When the Light Fades
by Twilight of Grace
Summary: [The selfless love of another can often lead to pain for the one they loved] Why do the ones we love seem to be the ones who always get hurt? Would it not better be ourselves than them? Cloud rushes to save Aeris, but in the end, there is nothing he can


Note: I do not own Final Fantasy, or any of the Character's herein. This is a fic that was inspired by another I wrote, and if she would like to claim that this was inspired by hers, then she has every right to. O well, here goes.

_Running, ever running. I'd been chasing after her for what seemed like days now, but in truth, it had not been much time at all. Every step seemed to take longer, every battle seem to be harder, almost as if fate did not wish me to see her again. But I took every step; slew every monster, nothing, not even the gods themselves would keep me from her._

_The other that loved me traveled along silently, lost in her own thoughts about the one we are chasing. She had known me far longer, but something about Aeris seemed special and welcoming, something I hadn't always felt from Tifa. Sure, she had always cared, and always would, but she seemed to be hiding things from me, almost as if she knew that something about me wasn't right. We both knew we had to do something though. We could not just leave her to face him alone._

_Strangely enough Yuffie also accompanied us. I had never known whether or not she was friend or foe, but for the time being she was an ally. She had befriended Aeris, or I should say, Aeris befriended her. Yuffie tended to keep to herself, but Aeris always tried to make her feel welcome. I guess that Yuffie felt she owed Aeris for that._

_Why had you run off alone, going to a fate you knew that you did not want nor except? Sephiroth shares no qualms against challenging fate and you knew he would follow. You knew but you went all the same. Through the sleeping forest to the Ancient's long dead city. Why had you left me? Was it because I could not control myself? The fact that I had attacked you, almost slain you, just so that I could give Meteor to Sephiroth? Or was it something different altogether? Had you not known that I would follow? So many questions now circulated in my head. And I longed to have them answered, so as to do something about my worry, I ran even faster, usurping even the lightning fast Yuffie for the lead of our three member pack, longing to reach you as soon as I could._

_A canyon loomed into view as we reached the end of the forest. A great mass of archaic structures and scattered bones now adorned my view, as our destination finally came into view. I stopped momentarily, taking in the mastery of it all. I knew not what I would do, only that something must be done. I did not wish to lose one that was so near to my heart. I began the descent into the canyon, my two female party members following quickly in my wake._

_None of us had spoken since we had begun this journey. I did not wish to force either of them to do so. We all knew what would happen if I...we lost her. We would never be able to replace her; she was like the soul of our escapades, the most innocent and caring of us all. Why of all people did she have to be the Cetra? Why not someone more suited to the task? Then a thought crossed my mind. Who was more suited to this task? There was not another person on this planet that cared for anyone as much as she did; maybe that was why she was chosen. This did nothing but make me feel worse though. Losing her would be a great blow to us all._

_I came to a crossroads. I could go left, right, or forward, but something was calling me to the right. I ran down it, noting two buildings on the path ahead of me. Not knowing where to begin, I decided we should check these both out. I walked into the first one, and noticed a small glowing ball of what appeared to be concentrated mako near the entrance to the house. I walked up to it, curious as to what it was. As I approached, a dozen or so voices in a language I did not understand bombarded my senses. I could not tell what they said, but they all seemed to be crying out in pain. The voices of the Cetra that had returned to the planet, I found this much out as I stood there listening. I don't know how long I stood there before I started to grow weary. My eyelids grew heavy, and my knees buckled. I crashed onto the ground, and everything went black._

_When I awoke, I noticed it was dark outside. Yuffie and Tifa sat next to each other, talking about what are next move should be, and then something in their conversation caught my attention._

"...Did you see him too?" Yuffie said.

"I think so, but are you certain it was him?" Tifa responded.

"Positive, you don't see someone carrying a sword like that dressed in all black just anywhere you know."

_At this I bolted upright in my bed. A sudden wave of fear and anxiety shot through me. So he was here. Sephiroth had come to ruin my life again, I would see to it that he at least had someone to try to stop him this time. _

_I arose swiftly, grabbing my sword, and quietly motioning for the girls to follow me. They both realized what I meant, each grabbing their own weapons. We climbed down a nearby ladder and walked out of the building._

_This time, something called me back towards the center of the crossroad I had been at earlier, but it wanted me to go straight this time. Something told me my questions would be answered down this way. Little did I know that I would gain more questions here than answers. _

_We followed the path to a small building, or at least it appeared small. It was imbedded in some rock, and as soon as you stepped inside you realized just how grandiose this building was. I looked around on the current floor we were on, and noticed a glowing flight of stairs coming out of the middle of the room. That was where I must go, that was where I would find her, or at least what I was searching for._

_The stairs seemed to stretch on forever. I lost count after a hundred or so. What I thought was a large building before turned out to be ten times the size I had thought it was. There was an entire altar down here, complete with a church, and all of this was hewn into glimmering rock, of what's origins I knew nothing of. I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and headed for the church, it was the only way I saw of getting to the small altar where I felt something calling me._

_I arrived at some stepping stones, and realized that there was only enough room for one to pass at a time. I stopped moving and turned around, facing my two companions. _

"I need to do this on my own."

_They both nodded at me, and I began to hop across the stones in an attempt to reach the small altar that lay ahead. There she was, in all her glory, praying to long forgotten gods, trying to give us some last great hope that I knew nothing of. Suddenly I lost control of myself once again._

_I stepped forward, not of my own impulse, but by that of another's. I walked slowly toward her, screaming at myself to stop, but my body refused to listen. I stopped in front of her, scanning her over with cool determination. I reached behind my back, grabbing onto my blade. _

"No!!"

_Still my body refused to listen; I managed to slow my self down. I moved my arms back, building up strength for the strike. Once. Twice. Three times I raised the sword higher, always building up more and more lethal power, enough to end her life in one clean strike. I felt my blade begin to fall, when suddenly a voice called out to me._

"Cloud, stop!"

_Almost as if by an accident or a miracle, I regained control of myself, and stopped the blade, inches from her head. I noticed a few strands of her hair fall to the floor, I had come so close to slaying the one that I loved, my light, but I had managed to stop myself. She opened her eyes when she heard the call, and stared deeply into my own._

_Never had I felt so much love from one person as I did right then. She stared deeply into my eyes, and I into hers. A smile escaping her lips, then it was ended._

_As I stared on in horror and disgust, a large blade pierced through her. A blade that only one man could wield. One so massive, that few had ever faced it and lived. I was one of those few. Aeris was not. She opened her eyes one last time, and she almost seemed to apologize to me. I pleaded for her not to, but then there was no life left within her to plead with. She closed her eyes one last time, and fell to the ground, her ribbon coming undone, and the white materia she carried falling from her head. I watched as it bounced down from the floor and fell into the water. I ran to her, catching her in my arms. She did not deserve this. If anyone did it was me, but not her. She had never wronged anyone, never done anything to harm another living soul, yet she was the one who had to die. All because she was a Cetra, all because she was different, the only one of us who could truly save the world._

_I looked up into those hate filled eyes of his, and saw mild amusement cross his face. He had enjoyed it. The sick bastard had enjoyed slaughtering the last of a dying race. I rose to my feet, laying her gently to one side, and pulled my blade from its sheath. This only made him laugh all the more. And he flew off, dropping yet another piece of Jenova for us to fight. Tifa and Yuffie came up to help me, but even though I fought harder than I ever had before, I was numb, not capable of understanding my own movements. I fought that battle, knowing that the man I once was would never be the same again._

Secondary note: Well? Any good? This is my first FF7 fic, and I think it came out petty good. 3 pages in just one sitting is always a good thing. I've always hated writing Death sequences, but unfortunately I am good at them. This was a very hard one to write. Not in the sense of actually writing, it rolled from my fingertips, but it was hard to actually sit here and watch myself retell one of the most sad story sequences in any game. I almost cried as I wrote it, and I had the music playing in my head from when she actually died. Call me what you will, but this was a tough one, but I think it came out well.


End file.
